


Promises

by lake_writes



Series: The King and His Queen [1]
Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Crying, Established Relationship, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, M/M, POV Oma Kokichi, Sad Saihara Shuichi, Sharing a Bed, Trans Male Character, Trans Saihara Shuichi, also shuichi's second in command of DICE in this au, he's the ultimate barista, how do i even tag this one uh, owo, shuichi's been through a lot, shuichi's not the ultimate detective here, they have four cats together, we'll touch on that in later installments though, you meet Clubs here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:27:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23613754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lake_writes/pseuds/lake_writes
Summary: Sometimes when the one you love is hurting, all you can do is make a promise.Now isn't any different.
Relationships: Oma Kokichi/Saihara Shuichi
Series: The King and His Queen [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1699729
Comments: 2
Kudos: 154





	Promises

It was a nice, quiet evening. The entirety of DICE had disappeared into their rooms for the night, the youngest of them all having been tucked in by Shuichi and himself, something that they insisted they didn’t need but never made any other move to stop them from doing it. Kokichi reached out, wiping the fog away from the mirror, toothbrush hanging from his mouth as he vigorously towel-dried his hair. Shuichi had already headed into the bedroom, having showered before they left for school that morning, and was most likely reviewing the homework they had completed together earlier. The thought of it made the supreme leader smile.

He loved his studious boyfriend, more than anything in the world, although that could be a lie. DICE did exist after all. With Shuichi as their second-in-command, their Queen. Their breadwinner, too, which Kokichi couldn’t be more grateful for. He loved popping in and surprising Shuichi during his shifts, although he was sure it wasn’t much of a surprise at this point, seeing as he visited every day. It was worth it, though, seeing his eyes light up and seeing that amazing smile of his cross his face when they made eye contact.

Kokichi paused, letting his towel fall from atop his head to around his neck, listening to the soft murmur of Shuichi’s voice as he spoke to someone, one of the cats, if his higher-pitched, playful tone was any indication. He grinned again, leaving the towel where it had fallen as he continued to brush his teeth, leaning over the sink to prevent any toothpaste from falling to the floor and making a mess. He knew Three would be pissed if that happened.

He spit the toothpaste out into the sink, running the water to wash it down the drain and to allow him to rinse out his mouth, shivering as the peppermint flavor of the toothpaste made the cool water feel as if it were turning his tongue to pure ice. When he shut the faucet off, he could hear Shuichi shuffling around, still murmuring to whichever cat still currently had his attention. Upon exiting the bathroom, Kokichi noticed that it was Clubs, the chubby cat curled up in his boyfriend’s arms, purring up a storm that was so loud, Kokichi could hear it from the doorway. “Where’d he get this time?” Kokichi asked, an amused tone creeping into his voice as he crossed over to the pair, reaching out and scratching gently behind the tom’s ear.

“He tried to climb into the dresser as I was shutting it,” Shuichi hummed, pressing a kiss to the cat’s furry head before setting him down on the floor. “I put some more money in your wallet, by the way. I noticed you were low. Your addiction to Panta is going to be the death of you, you know that?” Despite the look in his eye that made it clear this was a lecture, Shuichi’s tone was fond and gentle.

Kokichi grinned, the expression on his face lopsided as he shrugged one shoulder. “Eh, better to go out doing something you enjoy,” he responded, stretching up to steal a kiss from his taller boyfriend. The scent of coffee beans still clung to him, remnants of today’s shift at the cafe. “That’s what I always say.”

Shuichi only laughed at that, rolling his eyes in that adorably playful manner as he took hold of Kokichi’s hand, dragging him off toward their bed. “Come on, we don’t have the time to be standing around. We have a test tomorrow, and we need to be well rested for it.”

Kokichi groaned quietly. “You know we really don’t have to do that stuff, right?” he asked as he flopped down, face first, onto the mattress. “We’re Ultimates, we don’t even have to really go to class as long as we practice our talents. You and I do that every day, I lead DICE, and you work with those old ladies who talk your ear off all day as you serve them countless cups of tea.”

“Yes, I’m aware, Kich’,” Shuichi hummed, throwing the blanket over Kokichi before crawling beneath it himself, snuggling close to his small frame and draping an arm over his bare waist. It was getting warmer out, as made obvious by Kokichi’s decision to forgo a nightshirt for the first time in months. Winter was finally coming to an end. “But it’s nice to go to class and see everyone, isn’t it? Yukizome-sensei even says at much.”

“I still don’t know why you listen to her so much,” Kokichi huffed out, his smile still pulling at his lips, his voice light and teasing. “I clearly have more brains than she does, I could teach the entire class if I wanted to.”

Shuichi snorted, a soft sound that only made Kokichi’s grin grow. “Yeah, sure, maybe how to juggle, you clown,” he teased, pressing a feather-soft kiss to the tip of the shorter boy’s nose.

Kokichi stifled a giggle. “Wow, Shumai, that cut  _ deep _ ,” he whined, giving the taller boy an exaggerated pout, his lower lip jutting out almost comically. “You’re lucky that I love you, or else you’d surely be punished for such a remark.”

No response came from Shuichi, which sobered Kokichi right up. He had that look in his eye again, the one that meant he was thinking, and that the thoughts were taking a turn for the worse. Kokichi frowned slightly at that, and he reached out, placing a gentle, comforting hand on his boyfriend’s cheek. “Shumai?” he called out.

Shuichi blinked a few times, his eyes glossy, as he took in a shuddering breath. “I-I’m sorry,” he muttered after a moment of trying to recompose himself. “I just.. You know that it’s sometimes difficult for me to… To wrap my head around it.” His tongue wet his lips as his eyes darted around the room, not wanting to meet Kokichi’s patient gaze as his fingers curled into a fist against Kokichi’s skin.

“To wrap your head around the fact that I love you?” Clarifying it was unnecessary, Kokichi knew that’s exactly what Shuichi meant. It wasn’t the first time that this sort of thing had come up, the words having come tumbling from Shuichi’s lips once in a moment of extreme vulnerability.

There was a brief moment before Shuichi nodded. “...I just… I can’t help but wonder  _ why _ .  _ Why _ do you love me, when there are so many others who are smarter than me, and-and better, and--” Shuichi’s breathing was picking up, only slightly, as he began to ramble, his eyes widening as his train of thought rode the rails deeper into the darkness that sat toward the back of his mind.

Kokichi shushed him gently, a slender finger pressing against the taller boy’s lips, the slight pressure clearing his gaze and bringing him back to reality. “Shuichi, there’s hardly ever a ‘why’ when it comes to love. When it comes to you and me. It’s just… how it is. I love you because I do, because everything feels right when you’re near me, everything is clearer and everything just… seems easier. With you, I feel like I could take over the world in a single night.” That fond smile was back on his lips, Kokichi knew, the warmth flooding his cheeks as he let the words leave his lips.

Tears had begun to gather in the corners of Shuichi’s eyes as he listened, his gaze not once having moved from Kokichi’s face. A few tears managed to break free, rolling down his cheek and leaving warm, wet tracks in their wake, before their descent was interrupted by the gentle sweep of Kokichi’s thumb. “I love you, Shuichi, and I do my best to show it to you in whatever way I can, whether that’s by kissing you, or holding your hand, or hanging out with you and your friends, or even showing up to visit you while you’re at work. I do my best to give you reminders, so you know just how much you mean to me.” A momentary pause stretched out between them as Kokichi allowed Shuichi a moment to process his words.  
  
“DICE all love you too, but you know that,” he murmured. “Just the other day, Six was telling me all about how she was boasting to her classmates about how amazing you are, what a good cook you are, and how much she loves you.” He continued to rub his thumb against Shuichi’s cheek, doing his best to combat the tears as they fell faster and faster. “We all love you, Shu, and you know that isn’t a lie, right?”

Shuichi hiccuped quietly, his shoulders trembling as he fought to keep the sobs contained. His golden-grey eyes glittered in the weak lamplight, only made brighter by the tears that bubbled over and dripped down his face. “I-I’m sorry,” he whimpered out, burying his face in the crook of Kokichi’s neck. “I-I’m sorry…”

“There’s nothing you need to be sorry about, Shu-baby,” Kokichi cooed gently in his ear, shifting his hand to rub up and down Shuichi’s back. “You can’t help when your head’s being mean to you like that. We just gotta prove it wrong when it’s doing this stupid stuff, yeah?”

Kokichi hoped, almost desperately, that his words were helping. He was never too good with words, that always seemed to be more of Shuichi’s forte, if he was comfortable in the environment. “...Yeah,” Shuichi whispered out after a while, his breath ghosting over Kokichi’s skin as he pulled back up to gaze at his boyfriend with tear-blurred eyes. “Yeah…” he repeated, cementing his answer.

Kokichi gave him a smile of encouragement before he leaned in, connecting their lips in a gentle kiss, applying a pressure that was firm and reassuring, and full of love and warmth. His heart soared, as it always did when Shuichi reciprocated the gesture, his hands sneaking up to the shorter boy’s shoulders, tugging him closer as his eyes slid shut.

His lips tasted of espresso and cream, a flavor that Kokichi had only ever come to recognize as Shuichi’s, and that’s how it would forever register as to him. Kokichi shifted, breaking the kiss only for a brief moment to lift himself up so his upper half was hovering just over Shuichi’s before diving in to steal another kiss, this one just as firm as the first, his hand slowly sliding into place, cupping Shuichi’s cheek ever so gently. “Shuichi,” he breathed out as they parted again, watching as his golden eyes fluttered open to meet his gaze. “I love you, and I promise, I won’t  _ ever _ stop. You mean too much for me to even  _ dream _ of stopping.”

His lopsided grin returned as he held out his right hand, his pinky extended. Shuichi stared blankly at it for a moment before his left hand rose to meet it, their pinkies intertwining. “You see? That’s a promise that’ll never be broken,” he murmured, breaking the link to pull Shuichi’s hand closer, pressing a soft kiss against the knuckles.

“...Never?” Shuichi asked, his voice quiet, timid, and so full of hope.

“Never,” Kokichi reaffirmed, nodding, continuing to smile as he pecked his boyfriend’s lips one last time before settling down beside him again. “Not once in my whole life.”

There was a moment of silence before Shuichi’s soft smile overtook his features again. Another success, Kokichi thought with a grin, as Shuichi shuffled in once more, returning to burying his face in Kokichi’s shoulder, this time to hide the blush that painted his cheeks. “We… should get to sleep now,” Shuichi muttered, his voice muffled by Kokichi’s skin. “...I love you, Kokichi.”

Kokichi huffed out a small laugh, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of Shuichi’s head before he turned, ever so slightly to turn off the lamp at the bedside, plunging the room into darkness. “I love you too, my dearest Shumai.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hey thank you for reading this!! This is an au that I've rambled about quite a bit on discord, so if you're reading this from the link I left there, hi!! Welcome!! If you're here because you found this in the listing, then thank you for taking the time to read this! I'll be putting a link to my writing server in the description of the series if you'd like access to wips as I'm writing! Thank you again for reading this, make sure to wash your hands and stay safe! Have a lovely day!


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